THE global health crisis may have ostensibly put the brakes on the entertainment industry, but at least one artiste has been using the time to prepare himself and his music for when the pandemic eases.

Reggae singer Kenzic is currently putting the finishing touches on his sophomore album to have it ready to hit the streets once the entertainment industry worldwide gets the greenlight.

“We are almost done with the project. I’m getting ready to shoot the visuals for the lead single, a collaboration with Agent Sasco called Top Ranking. We are very excited about this one but we are watching the climate. We don’t think it is wise to release the music at this time, as you are not able to promote as you would want to get the buzz locally then push overseas. I believe this is a Grammy-worthy album and so we want to release it at the most opportune time in order to reap maximum benefits, and this can’t be done when the industry is still under lock and key due to COVID,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

Kenzic was keen not to divulge too much about the forthcoming album, but did say it was different from his debut project.

“I can say that we have decided on the name for the album… it’s Top Ranking, just like the first single. I will tell you that it is different from the first album where I did a lot of experimentation and fusion of the sounds I was listening to at the time. This one takes me to the root, the core of reggae and dancehall. The themes of the song run the spectrum, everything from love and relationships, especially that father-son bond now that I am a parent, to social commentary… a hard look at what is going on around us in Jamaica and looking out on the world. There are some other important collabs, but I’ll keep that as a surprise.”

Kenzic said his team will be analysing the situation in early 2022 to see when to drop the album.

“I just can’t spend all this time and money, put in hard work and drop it when the time is still not right,” he noted.

Also a stage and screen actor, Kenzic, who uses his given name Kadeem Wilson, for such projects, is still basking in his latest success. He won Best Actor at the Toronto International Nollywood Film Festival in Canada last weekend for his role in the short film Sweet Rind, written and directed by Andre Wynter. His co-star Sherando Ferril won Best Actress, while Wynter won Best First Film.